Crime Highlights Of 2011

All right, folks, here is the crime highlights of 2011 for this neighborhood post. Sorry I'm two weeks behind with it.

1) January 3, 2011 at 8:40pm - Not even five days into the New Year of 2011, Avondale had its first gang-related shooting. According to information gathered about the shooting, two men in their early to mid 20s were driving west on Diversey when someone opened fire on them from across the street. According to Chicago News Report this shooting occurred in front of the K&A Laundromat at 3522 W Diversey, which placed this shooting as officially in Avondale. The younger man was shot in the shoulder, leg and a graze wound to the head. The older guy was hit in the shoulder as well.

2) January 6, 2011 at 4:44pm - This story is such a positive, and good one, that it deserves to be highlighted all by itself. At 4:44, a 14 year old girl had just gotten off the #76 Diversey bus and was walking down the 2800 block of North Whipple, in Avondale, when a man named Larry Smith, 28, of the 3700 block of South Wells, began to follow her home. As the girl approached the front of her house, Smith started running after her. He then grabbed her and threw her to the ground as she tried to sprint up the stairs to her house. He then started to take her clothes off as she struggled and screamed. That is when a Great Dane dog, named Scooby, and his owner, Agustin Zamora, Jr., got involved. They ran outside and chased Smith down Whipple, until they got to the north alley of George on Whipple, where him and Scooby cornered him. Scooby then proceeded to growl and bark at Smith until CPD arrived to take him into custody. Smith was charged with Criminal Sexual Assault the next day. What a story. Even if it's a year later, Scooby and Zamora did an awesome job! THANK YOU for doing this, guys!

3) January 6, 2011 from 7:10pm to 8:57pm - This was a night of craziness, you can say. First, at 7:10pm, 25th District officers were dispatched to a call of a "Battery in progress" at Kelvyn Park High School, 4343 West Wrightwood. There were two basketball players fighting at the high school's basketball game. Then, at 7:12, officers had a call that said there was a fight breaking out between the high school's basketball team and another school's basketball team, that was obviously playing them. There was a break in the insanity, until 8:26. At 8:26, Beat 2546 heard five gunshots fired at the intersection of Wrightwood and Avers. They went to check it out. At 8:27, 2546 reported that a white van was involved in the incident. It went towards Koz Park. A minute later, a BUNCH of calls of "Shots Fired" came into 911 from residents in the area. People were giving the following locations for shots being fired: Schubert/Monticello, the 2600 block of N. Hamlin, and the 2700 block of N. Ridgeway. Three minutes later, a victim was talking to 2546 and told them that the shooting occurred at Lawndale/Schubert. 2546 went to check for a crime scene. A minute later, officers asked Dispatch to notify the 14th, 16th and 17th Districts about the incident. At 8:36, it was announced that the shooting was gang-related. The victim was an Orchestra Albany gang member. Two minutes later, Beat 2550 had a light brown Toyota take off from him at Diversey and Hamlin, going south on Hamlin towards Schubert. Ten minutes later, Dispatch assigned 2552 to help 2546 look for a crime scene. No one was shot, but the victim's car window was busted out. An Evidence Tech was ordered. At 8:57, 2523 thought they had the Toyota in the alley behind 3031 N Milwaukee, but it wasn't it.

4) January 2011 - There was a pattern of robberies in the area of the Logan Square Blue Line station. In the pattern, a car would pull up into an alley ahead of a female pedristian. Two or three guys would get out and loiter ahead of the victim until she catches up. One would pull out a knife; if the victim resisted, she would get punched or knocked down. There had been at least four attacks with the same description. One victim described one of the perps as clean-cut Hispanic males.

5) January 21, 2011 at 7:35pm - Residents on the 2700 block of N Ridgeway called in an accident as "Shots Fired" because they were pissed about police response to the accident. Officers were angered about the fact neighbors called the accident in as gunshots being fired and wanted someone locked up for it. Someone was injured from the accident and it is believed that the driver was drunk.

6) January 23, 2011 - A shooting occurred in front of the Green Dolphin Street Club, 2220 North Ashland. A woman in her 20s was shot in her back. This was a string of incidents that occurred at this club. Chicago News Report author Timothy Fitz investigated the situation and spoke to Alderman Scott Waguespack (32nd) about this. They both worked with CPD, the Liquor Control Commission and the Department of Buildings to address the problem.

7) January 28, 2011 at 2:48am - A serious accident took place at said time on the 3300 block of W Diversey. A woman was reportedly thrown through the windshield of a vehicle, but somehow managed to take off from the scene.

8) February 1, 2011 at 5:26pm and 5:47pm - At 5:26pm, there were five gang members flashing gang signs in the middle of the very dangerous blizzard that crippled the city for days. At 5:47, they were reportedly fighting. This wouldn't be a highlight, normally, but it is due to the brazeness they had to be out in that kind of weather.

9) February 2, 2011 at 3pm - A man believed to be in his 50s, and homeless, was found dead in an alley on the 3000 block of W Fullerton. This wouldn't be a highlight normally, either, but it is due to the blizzard we had. It was never said if he died as a result of the blizzard or of something else.

10) February 17, 2011 at 5:40pm, 7:00pm and 10:00pm - Lots of violence and gang imtimdation occurred in the community on this day. First, at 5:40, a group of aboulstely imtimdating gangbangers -- about 10 to 15 of them -- were spotted on the corner of Diversey and Lawndale, in front of a well-known, infamous drug-selling spot. They scene was so imtimdating that people walked to other nearby streets to get away from them, whether if they were getting on a CTA bus, going to the store or walking home. Then, at 7pm, a shooting occurred at Lawndale and Fullerton. According to information pulled from that shooting, officers were patroling the area when they heard gunshots. As they were investigating, they saw a man running towards Altgeld on Monticello, then north in the alley between Monticello and Lawndale. He was briefly caught, but then he escaped from CPD again. CPD was also looking for another man involved, who ran towards Central Park on Fullerton. Finally, at 10pm, two men in their late teens were shot on the 3100 block of N Sacramento. One was shot in the arm, and the other one was shot in the back. They were not seriously injured.

11) February 23, 2011 at 9:00pm - Gunshots were fired at the corner of McLean and Drake, by Latin King gang members. No one, fortunately, was shot. When CPD arrived on scene, there was a man fleeing the crime scene, going down an alley. About 45 minutes into their investigation, at 9:44pm, CPD observed a black Oldsmobile with tinted windows running stop signs at Central Park and McLean. Then, at some point during the investigation, officers stopped an Oldsmobile on the 3400 block of W Belden, and questioned someone. No further information was given on this incident.

12) February 27, 2011 at 5:00am - A 23 year old man was shot at the intersection of Belmont and Central Park. The victim was stopped at the intersection, waiting to make a left onto Belmont from Central Park. It is unknown who was shooting, and who the intended target was. The victim was shot in the right arm and leg. He was okay enough to drive himself to Resurrection Hospital.

13) March 20, 2011 at 6:00am - A shooting occurred at the corner of Kedzie and George. Two men in their 20s were shot, one 24 years of age and the other 29. The 29 year old was the initial victim, and was struck in the upper chest. He was getting out of a car when a dark-colored sports utility car pulled up and someone fired off gunshots at the victim. The second victim, the 24 year old, was struck in the right shoulder as he got out of his car coming to the aid of the first victim. Someone inside of the two victims' car attempted to take the two to Illinois Masonic, but two ambulances caught up to them and took them instead.

14) March 27, 2011 at 3:05am - Gunshots and an arson occurred on my block, the 2800 block of N Ridgeway. A sliver Nissan and a white van came up the block, ramming each other. Two to three gunshots were also fired. On the 911 tapes, 911 callers were reporting that several cars were ramming each other. There were also multiple calls of gang disturbances on the block and at the corner of George and Ridgeway. That's not all. A neighbor, who no longer lives in the area, was a victim. As a result of these cars chasing each other, this neighbor's car was rammed by the van. As a matter of fact, the white van rammed their car so hard that it caught fire. Intially, the people in the white van ran west down George to flee from the van, but then they got back in it and sped off, while it was ON FIRE. In addition to this, there was a small blue car involved, and a neighbor reported that there were four men in it, possibly with guns.

15) March 30, 2011 at 7:45pm - A shooting occurred on the 2700 block of W Armitage. A 20 year old woman was shot. She was taken to Illinois Masonic in fair-to-serious condition. No further information was given, other than someone living on Fairfield saying they heard a young girl crying out, "mommy!".

16) April 4, 2011 at 9:30pm - A large and scary gang fight erupted on the 2300 block of N Ridgeway, with gunshots going off. Multiple 911 calls came in for 10 to 12 males fighting in the street with bats, along with females fighting, and gunshots. One man reportedly had a rifle. So the police went on over, frisked the subjects, did some other police work, and pulled an RD number. I'm not sure if there was any arrests or not.17) April 11, 2011 at 7:30pm - A food delivery driver was viciously attacked on the 2500 block of N Spri

ngfield. Apparently, several offenders were involved in this attack. The victim told CPD that several male Blacks rode up on bikes, and had their faces covered with white t-shirts, then attacked him with stones and robbed him. One of the men hit the victim in the forehead, causing a large gash. It is unknown what was used to leave the gash. It's not known if the perps were ever caught or if the victim recovered.

18) April 16, 2011 at 2:50am - Gunshots were fired at the intersection of George and Avers, and the 2800 block of N Ridgeway. On Ridgeway, there were four to 17 gunshots being heard at these locations. There were also reports of a sliver or gray Dodge Chrysler 300 involved, and one report had a man with a gun getting into that car. It went speeding south on Ridgeway, the wrong way, then turning down Diversey and heading towards Lawndale at a high rate of speed. CPD missed the car by 30 to 40 seconds. One of their squad cars slowly drove down the block, then patrolled a couple of more times before coding the calls.

19) April 24, 2011 at 3:45am and 5:32pm - At 3:45, a man was shot in the arm at the intersection of Fullerton and Pulaski. He was taken to Illinois Masonic in good condition. There was no further information on the shooting. Then, at 5:32pm, a drive-by shooting occurred on the 2100 block of N Point. According to police, a man was shot in the shoulder. Two cars may have involved, one being either a black Impala or a black Nissan Maxima, and the other being a gold Impala. The cars were last seen speeding south on Point from Francisco. The victim's condition was never disclosed.

20) April 29, 2011 at 7:30pm - An off-duty Deputy U.S. Marshall shot a 20 year old man on the 2100 block of N Point. According to authorities, this 20 yr old man was chasing someone with a gun, and the Deputy U.S. Marshal was sitting in his car and saw this, along with another Deputy U.S. Marshall. They got out of the car and identified theirselves to the man, but he didn't care and pointed his gun at them. One of them pulled out their own gun and shot him in the upper thigh. He was taken to Illinois Masonic in serious to critical condition.

21) May 7, 2011 at 4:15am and 6:00am - At 4:15, around Diversey and Drake (or St. Louis), multiple readers who live in the area reported hearing three to four shots were fired. A car was also heard driving away. At 6am, about 15 gunshots were fired on the 2900 block of N Avers. As it turns out, a man was shot from the Avers incident. It was a gang-related shooting with a 29 yr old man getting shot in the lower leg. The shooters were Maniac Latin Disciple gang members who fled east on Wellington towards Hamlin. One officer said that the offender may have been about 19 yrs old, 5'10, 150 pounds, short hair, no facial hair, wearing dark clothes, blue or black, last seen on Hamlin, and then walking towards Milwaukee Ave.

22) May 19, 2011 at 1:50pm, 8:27pm and 8:33pm - Avondale's first homicide of 2011 occurred at 1:50 on the 3000 block of N California. According to police, Jesus Gamboa, 21, of the 2900 block of N Washtenaw, was shot in the chest and was pronounced dead at lllinois Masonic a short time afterwards. He was, allegedly, a Maniac Latin Disciple. Because of his death, the community became fired up about gang activity, and called for his family to either move or be locked up. A series of community meetings would follow, which there will be one particular meeting I'll describe a little later. Another man was wounded in the shooting. He was 22 years old, and was shot in the head. At 8:27, a call of "Shots Fired" came in for Koz Park. Allegedly, four to five shots were heard, and people were running. A minute later, a slow down was given. Officers saw or heard nothing, and there were no handwavers. At 8:30, the call was coded a 19Boy, but Beat 2563Boy, one of the responding units, said that they would hang out in the area. Also, 2563B reported that a citizen told them a small brown vehicle with tinted windows were involved. Three minutes later, at 8:33, another "Shots Fired" call came in, this time at Diversey and Springfield. Four to five shots were fired by four to five male Hispanics who ran towards the Walgreens at Diversey and Pulaski. Five minutes later, at 8:38, one call for "Shots Fired" was reported on the 2600 block of N Avers, with 6 heard. At 8:39, the calls were coded again. Beat 2505 had been there for nearly 10 minutes and hadn't heard a thing.

23) May 24, 2011 at 4:00am - Another homicide occurred on Beat 1411, the Beat that had just been affected by the May 19th Gamboa murder. According to information gathered about this particular homicide, a 23 year old man, Emigdio Ortega, of the 2600 block of N. Fairfield Avenue, was found dead by Chicago Police in an alley on the 2700 block of N Albany. Ortega, and another man (who is a known gang member in the area), were returning from Gamboa's wake, the man who was killed in the California shooting a week before, when another man came out from a gangway and opened fired on them. So then, Ortega and his friend ran separate ways so they wouldn't get shot, which obviously didn't work out. CPD responded to calls of "Shots Fired" in the area and found Ortega's unhurt friend by the Logan Square Blue Line Station. Ortega was found dead at about 5:30am and was pronounced dead at the scene. He had been shot in his shoulder and his right elbow. Again, sources said that the shooting was gang-related, and was related to the homicide that occurred on the 3000 block of N California last week. There was a description on the offender, and it was as follows: male Hispanic, 20s, light complected, 5'8 or 5'9, 150 to 160 lbs, and last seen wearing a red cap and red jacket.

24) May 25, 2011 - A community meeting to be remembered for years by some of the (younger) neighbors in the community took place. It was in response to the two murders that happened on Beat 1411, the one on California and the one at Schubert/Albany. 1st Ward Alderman Joe "Proco" Moreno called the community meeting. This meeting occurred started at 6:00pm and it was held at the 14th District station. I had my Beat meeting the same night, so I could not make it to this meeting. But I do have a very, very good account of the meeting from a reader who lives in the area of where these two murders occurred, that wishes to remain anonymous. With that said, I'll refresh your memory and remind all of you the account of the meeting that I was given by this neighbor: "...The meeting went pretty well...There were about 60 people there, who voiced various concerns and complaints, mostly regarding the police and city response to the recent shootings. (14th District Commander) Flores did her usual droning on about how they're 'aware of the problem' and 'are taking action' and managing to make two gang shootings within a week sound boring....Deputy Chief Escalante was there from Area 5, and he was able to address the immediate actions the police are taking - putting more police on the streets, adding additional cars, diverting a few cars from Wicker Park during the evenings to 1411 and 1412, bringing in the gang unit, etc. which was very encouraging....A lot of talk about the 911 problems, which is where Flores got defensive again. Apparently the 911 office is part of the Office of Emergency Management, NOT part of the police department, and there's a different set of criteria for prioritizing calls. While you may call in to 911 with "Someone ran past with a gun, he had a blue jacket on and red shoes, he was going east on Diversey," the 911 operator may not give all that information to the police dispatcher, who then may not give all the information to the police officers. So there was some discussion of having someone - not a flunky - from the 911 department come to the next meeting. It's like there's a massive disconnect between the public, the 911 service, and the police and for some reason, no one can straighten it out. Incomplete information is being given out, wrong addresses, etc. and only some of it is people being confused when they call 911. Moreno said some really good things about how the city was going after gang members using things like building violations and citations for unlicensed businesses, etc. Gamboa, in particular, is being hit with thousands of dollars in fines for building violations. He's using every resource he can find to convince the people permitting gang members in their houses that it's not in their best interests to continue doing that. And speaking of Gamboa, guess who showed up at the meeting? Sal Gamboa himself, father of Jesus Gamboa, the reason people in 1411 stopped going to the CAPS meetings. Who wants to bitch about gang members when the father of the gang members/drug dealers is sitting there staring at you? Anyway, I'd had to go shortly before this point, so I'm just telling you what the people there said: Gamboa started talking - as he has at many CAPS meetings, including the last one - about how he needs the community to help him, how he can't control his children (he has one remaining son, in his mid/upper twenties, also an active MLD), how he can't be blamed and blah blah blah, and THEN he starts complaining to Moreno that he'd invited Moreno to the wake/funeral and Moreno hadn't come, and going on about how Moreno hadn't done enough to help him. Moreno, bless his rock-star heart, apparently lost his fabled cool and told Gamboa that he wasn't likely to go to the wake, seeing as there would be 100 gang members there mourning the loss of one of their own, and that Moreno was hardly going to go into a place where he was likely to get killed himself and leave his daughter without a father. And then he told Gamboa to leave. Escalante escorted Gamboa out. Up until Gamboa walked in, the meeting had been ALL ABOUT Gamboa, and the problems at that house, and the frustration the neighbors were feeling, but when the man walked in, everybody shut up. And with good reason. They/we live around the corner, down the street, on the same block from this guy and everyone, EVERYONE, knows that his older kid is an active gang member and that him and his friends deal drugs and own guns. The problem is that when the thugs are hanging out at Gamboa's house, the cops can't do anything - Gamboa owns two houses next door to one another (2914 and 2916 N. Washtenaw) and gives them permission to be there. So the cops can't arrest them for loitering or trespassing, because they're not doing either - they're just being scary and intimidating and probably dealing drugs, but with the full permission of the property owner. The house is across the street and about a quarter of a block from the neighborhood park (playlot), which is where a lot of the little kids in the area go during the summer. Part of the problem with the Gamboas is that his kids were dealing and smoking weed right out in front of the little playlot. Someone in that house HAS to have a scanner, though, because the thugs would scatter like cockroaches as soon as the cops were about to show up. The rest of the meeting was about what we, as citizens, can do to combat the gangs. "Positive loitering" was suggested, where we all go sit on our porches or whatever, but I don't think anyone really thinks that's a strategy that's going to have much effect on these knuckleheads. There was a lot of discussion about streetlights, since around here, the gang members are breaking into the wiring boxes and cutting the wires so the whole block or half a block goes dark and they can commit crimes in peace. Everytime the city fixes the wiring, the gang members break into the boxes again. The kid who was killed early Tuesday was killed just under the only dead streetlight in that alley - the guy who owned the house was at the meeting and brought that up. It looks like the police and city officials aren't abandoning us, and are putting as many resources as they can in our area to combat the rise in gang violence. There was some gossip about the first murder actually NOT being gang-related, that the victim was killed over some comments he'd made to the accused shooter and his girlfriend while walking down the street, but that's unsubstantiated. I'll tell you, though, that after that meeting, District 14 and Flores are on notice that there are a LOT of people watching what they're doing and taking careful note of whether or not the police are following through on their promises. I have a lot more faith in Escalante - I've been told by various sources that he's an excellent police officer, which is why he was promoted, and he's certainly a far more effective communicator than Velgara, Flores or Dowd. Moreno pretty much ran the meeting...he really showed that he was a stand-up guy last night. He wasn't going to let Gamboa come in and derail the meeting and intimidate people the way he usually does, and I'm told Moreno really told the guy off in a very forceful way. Rey Colon came in towards the end, since the second murder happened in the 35th ward, but he didn't participate all that much. The meeting took close to two and a half hours, and there were enough people there that the cops had to bring in extra chairs and it was still standing room only. Residents are really demanding some accountability from the cops, which I think is a really great thing. It's one thing to sit in a CAPS meeting and be told by someone in a uniform that you, as a citizen, aren't entitled to question what the cops are doing, or make a complaint about how the police are going (about) something. But a room full of 60 citizens, people feel more free to talk, I think,". I think that this will be a meeting to be remembered for years to come.

25) May 29, 2011 at 1:35am, 1:44am, 2:04am and 3:35am - The early morning hours of May 29, 2011 were crazy as hell, to put it blunty. At 1:35, 25th District officers recieved a call for a "battery in progress" at Barry and Monticello for gangbangers fighting in the alley between Monticello and Lawndale on Barry. What's so crazy about that, you ask? Well, at 1:49, CPD got a call that they were hiding behind a building in the 3000 block of Monticello. At 1:44, at Wellington and Pulaski, CPD was informed of a large fight breaking out from a party. Two minutes later, at 1:46, a call of "Shots Fired" was broadcasted for the intersection of Pulaski and Wellington. The 911 caller stated that two shots were heard from the large fight at 1:44. A minute later, at 1:47, a slow down was being given. One officer was also saying that these same calls were made last weekend by a bogus caller. At 2:04, five gunshots were fired on the 2100 block of N Pulaski, persumably near Dickens. Gangbangers that were hanging out on the corner jumped into a vehicle that took off towards Palmer on Pulaski. Two minutes later, at 2:06, a slow down was given for that call. At about 2:10, through 2:15, CPD had calls about Wellington and Pulaski again. They kept coming back to fight. At 2:58, another fight was reported at Pulaski and Wellington. Then, at 3:35, a shooting occurred at George and Avers. Three shots were heard, and then a man was reported shot. Mulitple calls came in on this incident. Two minutes later, at 3:37, CPD arrived and confirmed that someone had been shot. The victim was shot in the stomach and the leg. He was 31 years old and a member of the Gangster Disciple gang, making the shooting gang-related. CPD believed that either a dark-colored Sentra or Maxima, or a light brown Nissan Ultima, were involved.

26) June 8, 2011 at 7:48pm and 6:50pm - The infamous shooting of the two little girls occurred at Avondale Park on this day. From reports that were collected from police, shots were fired behind from a purple van that was in good condition with no dents. Victims are two female children, ages 3 and 5, shot in the back of the head and in the back. Witnesses reported a partial plate of King88****. Both children alive at the time of transport. This is thought to be a gang-related shooting. Vehicle found at 2800 N Francisco after it reportedly fled on the Kennedy, exited on California. One suspect in custody seen running from the van while near the park. This shooting marked a time in Avondale where neighbors North of Belmont vowed to fight for their community. This shooting truly outraged the community. The next day, an "outdoor roll call" by the police was held at the park. A series of community meetings and outdoor roll calls would follow this shooting in the weeks to come. An hour prior to this shooting, a devasting hit-and-run occurred in Logan Square, on the 2600 block of N Kedzie. A 66 year old man, identified as William McCann of the 2500 block of N Kedzie, was struck by a car, was injured, then pronounced dead at 7:31pm. An off-duty Chicago Police Officer saw what happened, went after the offender, and was arrested. The offender did try to flee the scene, but was unsuccessful.

27) June 18, 2011 - This was a rather crazy day in the neighborhood. Most of the craziness stayed around North Ave. and Humboldt Park, in connection to the Puerto Rican Fest, but some of it did leak into the neighborhood. First, at 5:23pm, Beat car 1413 reported that there was a large crowd of Imperial Gangsters at Fullerton and Drake. Some more cars were needed. 1411 and 1463Charlie headed over. Ar 8:11pm, Beat 1420 said that the corner of Fullerton and Drake was a problem one that evening. 1413 was positioned there to try to keep things moving. At 8:22pm, a disturbance was reported at Milwaukee and Armitage, with a group of teens arguing in the middle of the street. At 8:37pm, the problems at Fullerton and Drake erupted again, with the gangbangers acting up. 1471, one of the wagons, was sent there. Three minutes later, at 8:40pm, back around Milwaukee and Armitage, Beat car 1431 was on a stop at 2017 N Western and got word that a group of Spanish Lords just assaulted some people aboard a CTA bus at Milwaukee and Western. Probably the same group that was arguing at 8:22pm at Armitage and Milwaukee. At 8:42pm, a slow down was given at Drake and Fullerton. At the same time, at Western and Milwaukee, it was reported that a large group was congregated. A minute later, at 8:43pm, several calls came in from the Armitage/Milwaukee/Western area regarding the mob of teens jumping on and assaulting people. One call had a group fighting aboard a CTA bus. The problems at Armitage/Milwaukee/Western then died down for a little bit, until 9:18pm, when a "gang disturbance" call was reported at McLean and Western, with 10 of them going down Western towards Armitage. Caller thought they were heading to a fight. After that, things went quiet again, until 10:49pm. At 10:49pm, at the intersection of Armitage and Wilmot, a "person w/ a gun" call was dispatched to 14th District officers. Reportedly, there were 30 gang members going wild by the hot dog stand and were waving guns around. At 10:55pm, a slow down was given for that call. But then nine minutes later, at 11:04pm, a "battery in progress" was reported at Milwaukee and Armitage, with several males attacking a guy by the Walgreens and leaving him on the ground, bleeding.

28) June 19, 2011 from midnight to 2am - The craziness from the previous day, the 18th of June, spilled over into the overnight hours of this day. At 12:10am, a group of 20 supposed gang members were arguing and drinking in a parking lot at Fullerton and Drake, a corner that a ton of problems on the 18th with Imperial Gangsters refusing to leave the corner. Five minutes later, at 12:15am, a group of 8 gang members were running around on the 2000 block of N Western, throwing up signs. That block had a whole slew of dangerous gang activity just one to three hours before this call. At 12:32am, these gangbangers relocated to the corner of Charleston and Oakley, briefly. At this corner, there were two of them flashing signs, heading east. Two minutes later, at 12:34am, at Western and Charleston, gangbangers were reportedly going wild, breaking out car windows. A minute later, at 12:35am, Beat 1481Boy was requested to do special attention from Palmer to Armitage, Western to Leavitt, due to all of the problems in that area with the Spanish Lords. Ten minutes later, back on Drake, at 12:45am, a gang disturbance was reported. They were throwing up gang signs and talking about shooting someone. At 1:17am, a new intersection become gang-infested. 25th District officers got a call at Central Park and Wabansia for a "battery in progress", and the call said that people were fighting in the street with bats. Some people had knives. A male Hispanic with a black shirt and white hat had a gun. After that call, things quieted down for the remainder of the night.

29) June 21, 2011 at 1:06pm, 2:32pm and 4:22pm - This day wasn't all that crazy, but it was certainly strange. At 1:06pm, 14th District officers recieved a call at 3065 N Rockwell that a deer was trapped in the fenced area at this address. Nine minutes later, at 1:15, Beat car 1431 was the scene, and let Dispatch know that the deer was indeed there. She called Animal Control, and per the Department Of Natural Resources, the deer had to be released from there, and free to roam, unless it was injured or had hurt someone. At 2:32pm, the Administration Assistant for Senator Iris Martinez's office was threatened by a woman named Carmen who lives at 2845 N Kedzie. According to the 911 call, Carmen called Senator Iris Martinez's office and wanted a refund for something. When she didn't get the answer she wanted, she had her daughter call back, and the daughter threatened Martinez's Administration Assistant. At 4:22pm, getting back to the deer, it was sighted at Wolfram/Western and 2757 on Western. The deer was causing a big traffic issue. It was standing in the middle of Western on the first call, and walking on the sidewalk, and on the second ticket, the deer was running into traffic. An off-duty PO is calling in on one of the calls, and they wanted a car to sit there for traffic control. Animal Control wasn't coming out unless the deer got hurt. The deer was running north, towards the bridge. Two minutes later, at 4:24, the deer was sighted at George and Western. A minute later, at 4:25, the deer was at Diversey/Elston/Western. Another minute later, at 4:26, the deer was running down Diversey, towards Oakley. At 4:27, Beat 1410 had the deer at Western/Elston/Diversey, and wanted 1471, the wagon, to come over.

30) June 30, 2011 at 10:56pm - A really bad accident occurred at Pulaski and Palmer. Beat 2563David on-viewed it and called it in right away. There was a car that completely flipped over from the accident. There was children in the car and EMS was on the way. Two minutes later, at 10:58, a slow down was given. Nine minutes later, at 11:07, Beat 2549Robert had northbound traffic blocked off at Dickens on Pulaski. Two minutes after that, at 11:09, it was announced that ambulance 3 took the offender to Illinois Masonic. Finally, at 11:24, the accident had been cleared up.

31) July 2, 2011 at 8:11am and 1:18pm - The first Saturday of July was a bit crazy. First, at 8:11am, a fire broke out at the vacant building at 2979 N Ridgeway. At 9:06, a victim was taken to Illinois Masonic from 2979 Ridgeway. The victim taken to Illinois Masonic had smoke inhalation and also appeared to have been beat up. Officers will followup at Illinois Masonic to see if two incidents were related. At 9:43, Beat car 2523 was going to Illinois Masonic regarding the fire victim. Notification needed to be made to ComEd to shut off the power to that address. Then, at 1:18pm, 25th District officers recieved a call of a "battery in progress" at the intersection of Schubert and Lawndale. Group of kids were fighting. A minute later, at 1:19, two more calls came in. At the intersection of Monticello and Schubert, a group of people were fighting with sticks and bottles. At the same time, a "person w/ a gun" call was given to the officers at an address on the 2700 block of N Ridgeway. A male Hispanic with a white shirt and dark shorts had a gun. There was a group fighting. Five minutes later, at 1:24, at the intersection of Diversey and Springfield, a group was fighting and someone had a crowbar. Seven minutes later, at 1:31, Beat car 2521 was flagged down at Wolfram and Lawndale. Group of gangbangers that were heading towards Central Park were carrying pieces of glass on them. I guess after this report, the fights died down.

32) July 6, 2011 at 9:01pm - About 20 calls of "Shots Fired" came in for Mozart Park, Dickens/Springfield, 2000 block of N Avers and etc. and one call of a "Person Shot" came in at a location on the 2100 block fo N Springfield. There were anywhere from four to ten shots fired, gang members shooting, group jumped out of a van, someone's shooting through the park, and etc. It was complete chaos there. Two minutes later, at 9:03, officers said that no one was shot, but that there was a bunch of "jagoffs" hollering and screaming at the scene. Multiple units went over there. I'm guessing the activity died down afterwards.

33) July 10, 2011 at 6:00am - There was a fatal traffic accident at Armitage and Hoyne. It involved a 42 yr old woman, who was employed at the OEMC (911 Center) as a dispatcher for the CPD. The accident occurred a little after 6am. The victim's car was turned sideways and was slammed against a fire hydrant, while a Range Rover, the offender's car, slammed into a building just north of Armitage on Hoyne. This accident woke up many in the area this morning, and those people, or witnesses, described the scene as "chilling", seeing the woman's body slumped over the wheel of her car, with firefighters doing their best to save her. Some witnesses said that they saw or heard the offender trying to run from the scene, only to be brought back in handcuffs. Witnesses also say that several CPD vehicles were on scene within seconds of the crash, making them think the Range Rover was being chased by CPD.

34) July 24, 2011 at 3:00am and N/A - The first incident was on Mozart between Logan and Diversey, with allegedly six shots fired. The second one occurred sometime in the day on the 3200 block of N Albany, a block that had a very gang problem at this time. Allegedly, a neighbor found blood all over their sidewalk. No further information was available.

35) July 27, 2011 at 1:45am and 4:00am - First, at 1:45am, in the area north of Koz Park, a few neighbors reported that five or so gunshots were fired in the area. Then, at 4:00am, shots were fired in the vicinity of Belmont and Sawyer. One neighbor reported that there were 5 squad cars on Sawyer and about 10 cops after the shots. Someone was shooting at the ground after an argument. There was a car that sped away after the shots.

36) August 2, 2011 at 2:30pm - A domestic-related stabbing occurred on the 3200 block of N Elston. A 15 year old boy was stabbed by a female relative following a dispute between the two. The boy was cut on the back of the head. The boy was taken to Children's Memorial Hospital for treatment, and the family member was arrested.

37) August 18, 2011 at 7:30pm - A reader reported having "shots fired" at Cortland and Fairfield. Another reader said that they were at a party in the neighborhood. They saw a man walking hurriedly east on Cortland, yelling at someone. Then, someone in a vehicle behind him was also yelling. Minutes later, a clip was unloaded.

38) August 20, 2011 at 8:05pm and 10:18pm - Things got a little wild in the far western part of the community. At 8:05, a gang disturbance was reported at Diversey and Lawndale. They called again 48 minutes later, at 8:53, to report another gang disturbance there. 41 minutes later, at 9:34, a third gang disturbance was reported over there. This time, there were, allegedly, seven to 10 males standing on the corner, loitering and what not. They then went near the St. Hyacinth's Carnival that was occurring. Due to these calls being placed, I kicked into special coverage of the carnival. That was halted at 10:18pm, however. At 10:18, a couple of calls of "Shots Fired" were coming in for the 3100 block of N Lawndale. Seven shots were heard. One minute later, at 10:19, a man was reportedly shot at Belmont and Lawndale. Another minute later, at 10:20, a description was given from the shooting. There were four male Hispanics, two with black shirts and two with white shirts, were involved. They're Latin King gang members and were shouting "King Love!". Five minutes later, at 10:25, it was announced that the shooting was bona fide. It happened on 17's side of Belmont. Some officers from 25 were helping 17 to locate a possible second victim and a crime scene. Three minutes later, at 10:28, it was said that shots were supposedly fired from a brick house near the intersection of Monticello and Belmont. Six minutes later, at 10:36, a unit was looking for some witnesses from the shooting. Meanwhile, someone said there were four shots fired. Three minutes later, at 10:39, 17th District officers were saying something about 3626 W Belmont. One minute later, at 10:40, an "information for the CPD" call came in at Belmont and Milwaukee. A man and a child had just ran into the restaurant, with a possiblity of having something to do with the shooting.

39) August 23, 2011 at 4:15am and 4:29pm - A shooting was reported in the alleyway south of Belmont between Lawndale and Monticello at 4:15. According to a reader, five shots were heard. There was no further information on the perps or what else happened, but two readers did talk about a gang house on the southeast corner of Belmont and Monticello. At 4:29pm, a large gang fight erupted on my block, the 2800 block of N Ridgeway. Up to 20 teens and gang members were involved. Five minutes later, at 4:34, CPD hadn't arrived yet, and there were still multiple calls coming in on it. Four minutes later, at 4:38, there was a victim from the fight. Twelve minutes later, at 4:50, CPD finally arrived on scene. They were talking to the involved parties. Lots of crazy stuff was still going on. I think they called for an assist unit, also. Three minutes later, at 4:53, an assault was called in on the block. One of the neighbors was being threatened by another neighbor on the block, who has a gang-banging son. CPD stayed on scene until around 5:20, gathering information and trying to figure out what happened. At one point, two additional squad cars pulled up. The next day, on the 24th, a group of teens gathered and loitered at about 3:39pm, and then four hours, a drug deal went down.

40) August 24, 2011 at 10pm - A male Hispanic offender sexually assaulted a female victim at gunpoint in the 2900 block of W Belden Av. The incident occurred at approximately 10 p.m. when the offender pushed the victim into a gangway and began to attack her as she screamed for help. Witnesses heard the woman’s screams and ran to her assistance as one of them dialed 911. Additional witnesses pursued the offender on foot. The offender brandished the handgun toward the pursuing witnesses and was last seen fleeing north on Sacramento near Medill Av. The offender was also seen following another woman in the 2300 block of N. Milwaukee Av. shortly before the attack. The offender was in his late teens (17-20 years old), 5'7, 185 lbs, dark complected with a fade haircut. He had a permanently shrugged shoulders with little or no neck visible. He was last seen wearing a checkered or striped shirt, possibly white and orange or white and red, and tan cargo shorts.

41) August 31, 2011 at 10:37pm - Four to six shots were fired on the gang and crime-ridden (at that time) 2800 block of N Ridgeway. A couple of calls came in. A minute later, at 10:38, Beat car 2524 was on scene, talking to a witness. The shooting was apparently on the corner of Diversey and Ridgeway. A black or brown minivan was involved. It went towards George. Ten minutes later, this incident was coded a 19P. No one was shot or anything.

42) September 17, 2011 at 9:00pm - According to reader, 10 gunshots were fired at Kedzie and Moffat. Supposedly, the person that was shot at was a former Jouster gang member who had just returned to the area after a long tour "out west", only to be shot at by some Gangster Disciples.

43) September 20, 2011 at 9:08pm - 25th District officers recieved a call of three gunshots being fired on the 2600 block of N Hamlin, near Koz Park. A minute later, at 9:09, two more calls of "Shots Fired" came in, one for Schubert and Hamlin, and the other one for Koz Park. Seconds later, an officer said that a witness told them there were a couple of males who fired shots and fled down Hamlin north of Diversey. They were shooting in the park.

44) October 6, 2011 at 5:45pm - A major accident occurred at the corner of Diversey and Ridgeway. Apparently, one car was making a left turn onto Ridgeway from Diversey when the other came speeding down Diversey, crashing right into the first car. The car making a turn did a 360 and crashed right into a light pole. The accident brought the entire neighborhood outside. One woman sustained a head injury. There was glass all over the place from the accident. The one car was totaled.

45) October 8, 2011 at 9:42pm and 7:46pm - Several reports of "Shots Fired" were recieved by 911 for the corners of Kimball and Cortland/Armitage. Two to six shots were heard by multiple residents. One 911 call had a description of a tan or beige vehicle involved, fleeing towards Bloomingdale. At 7:46, a large fight erupted at Palmer and Kedzie. 40 teens were reportedly fighting in the street.

46) October 19, 2011 at 8:40am - A horrible, and sad, murder occurred in the Avondale community, on the 3400 block of N Lawndale. 16 year old Andre Vasquez was killed when two gunmen wearing masks inveaded the home and shot him dead. His mother, Krystal Hethcoat, 33, was seriously injured in the accident. A 14 year old sister was involved, but she managed to escape. Vasquez was pronounced dead at 12:31pm that day at Illinois Masonic. The sister and Vasquez were getting ready for school when this happened. Vasquez allegedly opened the door and the two men ran in, then rushed the home. The offenders ordered all of the victims to the ground and held them at gunpoint, then duct-taped their hands and feet together. The offenders allegedly demanded money. After stealing items from the home, a jewelry box, a cell phone, credit cards and Hethcoat's state I.D., they ran to the car and put the stolen items in it. During that time, the sister was able to free herself and run for help. The men then came back in the house, and shot both Vasquez and Hethcoat in the head, because they believed that both would be able to identify them, should the police get there. All three of the offenders were arrested shortly after the incident. The offenders are as follows: Jennifer Vojinovic Williams (the getaway driver), 27, Devonte Williams, 17, and Sean Williams, 33. All were charged with home invasion, first degree murder and unlawful restraint. They plead gulity to their charges, according to the information I've been given. Allegedly, Vojinovic was the brain who thought this murder through, apparently because of a falling out she had with Hethcoat. Hethcoat was described as a good woman who truly loved her children and was doing good in life. She apparently was going back to school to learn drafting and designing, despite being laid off from her lumbering job. Vasquez, a sophomore who was attending Schurz High School, allegedly was recieving As and Bs in school, meaning he was a good student. He was a good student who had no gang affliations, according to numerous sources, including the family. Police were investigating whether this shooting was gang and/or drug-related. According to a few sources, including Chicago News Report, who grabbed their information off of Hethcoat's Facebook profile, Hethcoat may have had a boyfriend who was involved in a gang. She was allegedly seen in a photo with a group of men, who were throwing up gang signs. Also, Chicago News Report claims that Vojinovic may have been planning this murder for about a month or so. The arrests probably would have not been made if it wasn't for Ray Souchet, a 53 year old Streets and Sanitation worker, who witnessed the car being out in front of the residence, it being in the alley, and then it leaving the scene.

47) December 3, 2011 - A murder occurred on the 2900 block of N Allen, in Avondale. I was given no information on the incident.

48) December 4, 2011 at 2:08pm and 3:34pm - I recieved multipe reports of a battery that occurred at St. Louis and Diversey. There was a large crowd of African-American people (Blacks) near the intersection, on the south side of the street, when an argument ensued. The argument turned physical, with seven to eight males jumping on one. After they got done beating the guy up, they all fled south on St. Louis towards Schubert. They caused some mayhem before they left, though, by jumping in the middle of the street, in front of cars, are running around the intersection. CPD arrived moments later, along with EMS, and several witnesses told CPD what happened. The victim had a little blood on his face. 27 minutes later, at 2:35, a battery was called in at Diversey and Central Park. Six male Blacks jumped on one. This was from the incident that occurred at St. Louis/Diversey. Also, at 3:34pm, 25th District officers recieved a call of a "battery in progress" at Monticello and Schubert, with 12 to 15 gangbangers fighting in the street. Three minutes later, at 3:37, several calls started coming in, with 10 to 15 fighting. Four minutes later, at 3:41, there was a call of a "person stabbed" from the 3:34/3:37 jobs. One of the fighters got stabbed in the chest. Eleven minutes, at 3:52, this incident was coded 19P. Crowd dispersed and no one was stabbed. 19 minutes later, at 4:11, a "person stabbed" call was called in at Wrightwood and Lawndale. Male was stabbed in the chest and back. Probably was related to the earlier gang fight.

49) December 29, 2011 at 6:15pm - Reportedly, shots were fired at Milwaukee and Gresham.50) December 31, 2011 at 9:43pm - Of course, the year of 2011 ended with a big bang, in Logan Square. An 18 year old girl was raped in front of the Congress Theater on Milwaukee. According to the information I had on the incident, at 9:43, a naked female was found in the grass in front of an address on the 2100 block of N Rockwell. CFD went to the scene. Six minutes later, at 9:49, a request was made for a detective and an evidence team to come to the scene. A minute later, at 9:50, a female officer was requested to respond to the scene. Four minutes later, at 9:54, more cars were needed for crowd control. At 9:57, reportedly, there were three minutes later, there were possibly six offenders involved in this incident, with three in custody.

There you have it, the 49 crime highlights of this neighborhood for the year of 2011. There are probably more but I don't remember or know about them. If there was and you know about it, please share in the comments section and I'll add it to this list. Thanks for reading this. Look out for the crime highlights of 2012 at this time next year.

Thanks,
AvondaleLoganSquareCrimeBlotter